“Thanks for helping us out,” Nina said to Ysarle as he threaded his way through the crowd outside the castle gates, ducking and weaving through the flow of people with ease. It reminded her of when she had first walked the streets of JE-22 in Luem, the indiscriminate current of bodies which seemed like they would take a lifetime of practice to read. She certainly hadn’t had enough experience yet to breeze her way through without difficulty like the others did, but at least keeping close to whoever was in front of her would suffice for the time being. Hopefully she’d learn eventually, it was a skill that she would need to if she was going to ever truly fit in at home.

It felt strange to even consider The Cloud Orchestra as her home now, despite Caecus being only one plate below. Her old life was down there somewhere, playing itself out right beneath her feet. Had things changed since she had gone, or did the same streams of blacks and greys pour down the side of the road each morning under the lashing sheets of icy rain? At least things were orderly on Caecus, unlike this disorderly throng of people that swirled about around her. Qualified badges brushed across her gaze every now and then before melting back into the jumble of colour, but she didn’t have time to worry about staying out of their way. For now she was simply focused on the man in the black shirt before her, because if he managed to disappear, she didn’t think that she would find him again.

“Don’t mention it,” he replied over the hum of the crowd as he stepped around a pair of Qualifieds in grey robes before easing between two women who had stopped in the centre of the street to quarrel. “People need to look out for each other around here, especially during the Evening League. The more the merrier, I say.”

“Where are we going?” Saela asked. Her hood was still pulled up as she trailed behind, her hand occasionally reaching out to tug at Nina’s jacket when the crowds got particularly dense. Nina had initially thought that she would have been the first to follow Ysarle, but it seemed that she was content to stay at the rear. Whatever worked for her, Nina thought. As long as they got there in one piece before she managed to offend someone.

“You’ll see,” Ysarle said with a smile, content to remain vague as he started to drift towards the left side of the main street. Nina would have rathered a little more elaboration, but instead she looked up to the sea of heads that bobbed around before her.

The main street which their car had arrived on earlier during the day was now flooded with people, not a single vehicle in sight. Nina could see that there were still people pouring out from the castle gates which had simply been thrown open, the snaking trail which emerged stretching some hundred or so meters down the road. Already she could see that the squat concrete buildings she had breezed past earlier during the day were now awash with light; the few balconies that she could see beginning to fill with people before her eyes. The atmosphere was certainly festive despite the familiar storm of dark clouds hanging high up above them, but Nina was just glad that the evening weather was pleasant. Slightly humid if anything, which she thought was odd, although her jacket was still comfortable in the lazy breeze that drifted up through the centre of town. Music and laughter occasionally caught her ears as the sounds were carried along with it, only to be replaced moments later by what she thought could be shouting. Better to just stick to Ysarle, perhaps. The pistol in her jacket knocked against her ribs as if to remind her that it was there, but pulling a gun on someone wasn’t exactly what she had in mind. Their confrontation with Ormain on Areinis had been enough guns for one lifetime, she thought. Hopefully it would stay that way.

Ysarle finally breached the stream of people flowing down the centre of the town and guided them into a side street. It was still busy here, although the traffic was at least rather manageable. Businesses on each side of the road seemed prepared for the onslaught of people with beaming smiles on their faces, restaurant menus and a variety of wares neatly arranged to catch the eye of anyone who wandered by. Those in the castle probably had more to spend than anyone else in the town, Nina realised, assuming that the Unqualifieds in the castle were paid more than those in the streets. Either way, it seemed like even the local residents were out and about to take advantage of the time of day, although they were probably even more wary of the Qualifieds that flocked to the central restaurants and shops in droves than she was.

Rounding another corner, the streets thinned once more, now a maze of passages that were perhaps wide enough for five or six people. Not wide enough for one of the sleek black cars that were nowhere in sight though, although there wouldn’t be room for one now anyway. Most of the buildings were square blocks of painted concrete with small windows which faced the street, a neat line of multicoloured two storey cubes only broken up by the occasional taller structure. Faces sometimes peered down at them from the other side of the glass as they walked, although Ysarle ignored them much like he ignored the shop keepers who continuously called out to him. The crowds continued to ease the further they walked, people drifting about in small groups as they continued to fan out further from the castle gates. Nina thought that it made sense considering that there was probably a touch over a thousand Qualifieds in the castle; those that did gather in the town would instead choose to stay closer to the main street. It was Unqualifieds who would melt into the backstreets here, disappearing into the maze of concrete before re-emerging once they were allowed to return.

After leading them down a flight of stone stairs that cut between two buildings before turning once more, Ysarle walked some fifteen meters before stopping underneath a green awning which prodded out from one of the town’s many concrete cubes. Nina could hear muted voices drifting down from above as she examined the buttery yellow paint that the building had been painted in, thick streaks of white framing the two windows which sat on each side of the door. Light flooded out from more windows up on the second floor above them, but before Nina had time to study the rest of the building, Ysarle had already pushed his way inside.

After looking back at Saela only to be met with a shrug, Nina followed him inside to find herself in a dim interior, the sounds from the street fading as Saela closed the door behind them. A yellow hallway which matched the paint outside stretched away in front of them, and Ysarle was already halfway down it as he strode for the flight of wooden stairs at the end. Nina followed behind him while she glanced at their surroundings, a line of dim exposed bulbs hanging from strings above their heads which illuminated the few paintings which were hung on the wall. They were obviously cheap judging by the worn timber frames that seemed to be just as scuffed as the floorboards beneath their feet, but the muddled scenes of green pastures and yellow fields somehow fit the mood. Painted by a traveller, she guessed, or at least someone who had heard enough stories. There certainly wasn’t anything that pretty here on Terminus, or if there was then Svanda was going to have some explaining to do.

After walking past what looked to be a deserted common room and then an equally as quiet kitchen, Nina hit the stairs. The noise which she had heard from outside found her once again over the sound of her footsteps as she ascended, and after following a sharp corner she found herself standing on the second floor. Well, not really a second floor now that she saw it, as besides for a small section of roof that covered the stairs, the rest of the space was open to the sky above. Four yellow walls which were the same as those below still surrounded them, lamps mounted along them at regular intervals to make up for the lack of lights overhead. It made sense why the windows had seemed so bright from below, at least, but what she had imagined was up here from the street couldn’t have been further from the truth.

“Aleaviel’s,” Ysarle said with a smile as he gestured in the direction of the mainly empty array of wooden tables and chairs that were casually scattered across the concrete floor, a thin layer of dust swirling about in the light breeze. A group of three people that Nina hadn’t seen before were already waving to Ysarle, and when after Nina glanced at them with a suspicious glare, he simply laughed before beckoning for them to follow him.

“Come and sit, I’ll introduce you,” he smiled. “Time for some real food.”